Friday, July 28, 2006

Shooting At Jewish Center In Seattle

Six people were shot - one fatally - this afternoon at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by a man who told a witness he was upset about "what was going on in Israel."...One witness, who declined to give her name, said a man walked into the Jewish Federation building with a gun, said he was upset about what was going on in Israel, then opened fire. After the shootings, the man said to call 911, the witness said. The witness said the man identified himself as an American Muslim....Metz said police officers throughout the city were being asked to step up patrols of Jewish synagogues and Jewish organizations.

LGF had linked to a strange poem by a Berkeley graduate student about her reluctant purple passion for Hezbollah ("I don't want you inside me, you are too male"), which Iowahawk promptly riffed. I wonder what she's thinking now? At least four of the victims were women. One line of epic poetry did hit a dubious note ("Maybe it is the naivety, of one whose life has never been directly threatened"). But after all, her charismatic Beirut sheik wouldn't hurt her, now would he? Gah. I wish some divine court could sentence her to walk the streets of Paris for two weeks wearing a Star of David. I wonder how long she would last at Berkeley if she were writing and publishing love poems for the nightriders of the Klan? She got star billing at Common Dreams (which I have mentally pegged as Uncommon Nightmares), of course.

I have known several extremely devout and deeply decent Muslims. I know that they are as disgusted and shocked as I am at this news.

Like the engineering student at the university who tried to run over random people in a crowd, this one wants publicity for what he did. He's proud of it. He thinks shooting unarmed Jewish women down is some sort of brave statement. I am afraid that there will be fighting in the streets of America before this is over.

This is so ghastly. I am glad you posted about it, I would be without words... I just don't know what to say in the face of seeing this come about in our country. Thank you for framing this properly in your post.

Bilgeman. Peace exists when people are prepared to judge other people on their deeds. To target other people based on other things means no peace because it means no law. The law must stand, and if it does not, then the people will rise up and kill or drive out Muslims. Many totally innocent Muslims will be caught up in that. But six totally innocent women have already been caught up in Seattle, and they have rights.

If the government of the US betrays the people, we will end up fighting in the streets. But never wish for that.

See my next post - I am no appeasionist. 90% of the US is still in deep denial. Because it is, we aren't telling the truth.

Unless Muslims in America are prepared to end preaching violence and are prepared to repudiate and hand over to the law any within their mosques and communities who do advocate violence, then they are doomed. That is the truth.

Anyone who has or ever has had Muslim friends should be telling that truth. They don't have long otherwise.

"Peace exists when people are prepared to judge other people on their deeds."

I disagree. Peace exists when everybody wants it to exist...whatever their motives may be.

"To target other people based on other things means no peace because it means no law."

That is not always a bad thing.

"The law must stand, and if it does not, then the people will rise up and kill or drive out Muslims."

It was once the law that black people were property...it was decided that that law would not stand. It was once the law that it was illegal for Jews to live...that law, also, was thrown down.

And how many innocent lives did those actions cost?

And if it comes to that, wouldn't you prefer that it be innocent Muslims who are killed and or exiled?

I know your answer.

"Unless Muslims in America are prepared to end preaching violence and are prepared to repudiate and hand over to the law any within their mosques and communities who do advocate violence, then they are doomed. That is the truth."

Amen.

If they would conjure up the beast, then let the beast eat them first.

I don't mean "any law". Heck, I could announce my own law that anyone who cuts me off in traffic has committed a capital offense. That's not law. That's narcissism, worshipped.

I mean THE LAW. Life has been a lot better and more hopeful since we started following it here in the south. Funny how that seems to happen over and over again.... Funny how wrong seems to rebound on those who commit it...

And yes, the beast has been conjured and now must be banished by the same people who conjured it.

How many attempts at mass murder will the US population stand before they decide to do something about it? There is a younger generation of Muslims many of whom HAVE been radicalized, and any of them watching CNN will get the party line to conform with what they've been taught.

By the way, the Haq shooter guy in Seattle - he worked at a nuclear facility. So does his father. No lie. Those in my family in the risk business tell me it's become almost impossible to get a new security clearance. Any guesses as to why? I think I know.